The Original Life Threatened At Age 16
by Yondaime Namikaze
Summary: Upon request from ed's.angel, here's the original story. This is only a oneshot. The format is a little different. It's not permanent; I just didn't feel like changing it too much. It's more like the original document this way. Please enjoy!


**ed's.angel: here's the original story that you requested. Enjoy!**

**(Hey, you changed your penname. I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't go to your profile to send you the PM that I was posting this. I don't get out much.)**

**It's kind of short.

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Life Threatened At Age 16

Winry Rockbell walked into the hospital. It was October and time for her yearly flu shot. She checked in with the nurse and waited for the doctor to call her back.

When her name was called, she walked back to the room she was told to go to. The young doctor who was new forgot to sterilize the needle and unbeknownst to either of them, the person who had used it before had been HIV positive.

The doctor quickly administered the shot which didn't hurt at all. He put a bandage on Winry's arm and she left. She never realized that she had been infected with the HIV virus.

Over the next couple of days, she started to feel sick, but she thought it was just the aftereffects of the flu shot. The sickness cured within the next couple of days. Winry didn't find that odd, but she began to notice that if she got hurt, it would take longer for her wounds to heal. In fact, she still had a mark from when she cut herself shaving two months ago. 

Four months later, the cut still looked almost fresh. Winry asked her grandmother about it, and her grandmother recommended that she go to the doctor's office to get it checked. At the doctor's office, she received startling and unexpected news. "Winry, you are HIV positive."

Winry blinked. She couldn't believe that this could happen to her. "Okay, Doctor Hughes. Can you tell me more about HIV?" The female doctor nodded. "Of course. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV is a stage in the AIDS process, but the HIV phase can last as long as ten years. That is because there are drugs on the market that slow down the process. HIV slowly weakens your body's ability to fight illness. Also, there is one more thing, If people with HIV are diagnosed early and they respond to treatment they can be healthy, work, have relationships like anyone else, and they can also have a long life expectancy. 

Winry felt a little reasurred. She thanked the young female doctor. "Dr. Hughes, can you tell me some statistics on HIV in teens and young people. "Sure, Winry," answered the doctor. "One in every three people who are living with HIV go undiagnosed. These are the people who are very scary, because they can infect others unknowingly. That might even be how you got it. 25 of new HIV cases are among women. Also, the percent of persons between the ages of 15 and 24 who are living with HIV is 81. Does this help put the illness into perspective, Winry?"

Winry nodded and faked a smile. "Yes, Doctor, thank you." On the way home, she stopped at the store to pick up some of the drugs that her doctor had told her about. When she took the bottle to the checkout, the woman behind the desk gave her a weird look. "It's for a friend," Winry lied; embarrassed that she had to buy the pills at all. When Winry arrived home, she avoided telling her grandmother the news that she'd received.

Winry went upstairs to her room and started to research the topic of HIV and AIDS on her computer. She noticed that a lot of young people are not concerned about becoming infected with the virus. Why is that such a big surprise to you? She asked herself, You weren't concerned either.

Winry had to be careful not to get sick because her immune system wasn't as good. One day, Winry's childhood friend, Edward Elric, stopped by. He noticed immediately that she wasn't feeling well and she also spent a lot of time hiding out in her room, away from everybody. After a good home-cooked meal, Ed decided to confront her about this.

Ed knocked on Winry's bedroom door and then he walked in, not waiting for an answer. "Winry, what's wrong? You're not acting like yourself at all." Winry looked up. "I want to tell you, Ed, but you'll shun me. I don't want you to abandon me." Ed couldn't believe what she was saying. "I would never shun you. Try me, Winry. What is so bad that I'll 'shun you' for it."

"I have HIV, Ed!" Winry yelled, tears in her eyes. "I have a virus that might kill me later in life." Seeing Ed's shocked face, she continued. "Go ahead, shun me. Leave on another one of your journeys." Winry didn't expect Ed's reaction. He went over and hugged her. "It's okay, Winry. You'll get through this and I'll help you in any way that I can." Winry cried into her best friend's arms. "Thank you Ed for everything."

A couple nights later, right before Ed was to leave again, Winry made dinner. She was cutting a vegetable with a knife and she accidentally cut herself. Ed, who was helping out in the kitchen too, noticed and he decided to bandage the cut for Winry. She originally declined, saying that he couldn't touch her blood if he had any open cuts on his hands. Ed then showed her his left hand, which was cut-free. As Ed helped his friend, she relaxed.

Later that night, Ed was reading a book in the Rockbells' living room when he noticed something bad. "Oh crap," he muttered to himself. Winry, who was watching TV, heard him and looked over. "What's wrong, Ed?" Ed showed her his left hand. "I have a splinter." Winry felt so bad. "Oh man, your skin is open. What if some of my blood got in? I don't want to give you HIV, Ed."

"Don't panic just yet, Winry. Isn't there some kind of test that can tell us if I have HIV or not?" Winry thought about Ed's question. "Yeah, I think so." Ed nodded. "Okay, we'll go to the hospital and check tomorrow, but I don't think that there is anything to be worried about."

The next morning, the two teens went to the hospital for Ed's test. The doctor there gave Ed the details on the test. "I'm going to swab the inside of your mouth and you should get the results in as early as 20 minutes." After that was done, they sat in the waiting room to await the test results. Twenty minutes later, the doctor came out with the results. "Edward Elric, you do not have HIV." The two kids breathed a sigh of relief. They thanked the doctor and then they headed back home.

The next morning, Ed decided to leave again. He said goodbye to Winry. Winry hugged her best friend. "You know, Ed. I'm not going to try to hide my condition anymore." Ed smiled. "That's good, Winry. You see, your HIV doesn't change your beauty or the fact that I love you." Winry smiled. "That's so sweet, Ed. I love you too. Anyway, I think I might try to campaign a little for HIV and AIDS. You see HIV prevention is up to all of us; we can't leave that responsibility with others."


End file.
